1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of cleaning devices for razor blades. More specifically the present invention relates to an apparatus for extending the life of blades by keeping them clean of mineral and related deposits which cause blades to become dull long before the edge is lost through wear.
The first embodiment includes a quantity of cation source beads retained within a water and cation permeable mesh sack. The mesh sack is tied to a first end of a length of string, much like a tea bag. At the second end of the string is attached a cardboard or paper panel for gripping by the user when lifting the sack. The sack is dropped into a cup or other vessel containing water. The blade end of a razor is immersed in the water beside the sack, and the cations supplied by the beads react with and deplete deposits on the blade.
The second embodiment includes a cup or other vessel having a bead retaining region and a blade receiving region separated by a water and cation permeable mesh partition. A quantity of the cation source beads is provided in the bead retaining region. Water is poured into the cup to a level above or beside the mesh, entering the bead area through the mesh. The blade end of a razor is placed into the cup, where it becomes immersed in the water and comes to rest on top of or beside the mesh partition, in close proximity to the beads.
A method of razor blade cleaning is provided according to the invention including the step of immersing the blade end of a razor in a cation carrying medium in close proximity to cation source material which produces cations in the medium. The blade is kept immersed with the material between razor uses, such as overnight.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have long been devices for cleaning whiskers and other debris from the surfaces of razor blades. These devices have been largely ineffective because they do not remove the primary cause of blade dulling, which is deposit build-up at the edge.
Humbert, U.S. Pat. No. 1,618,661, issued on Feb. 22, 1927, discloses a sanitary device for cleaning and wiping razors. Humbert is apparently intended for the old-style straight razors. A length of fabric is unwound from a first spool and rolled over a roller at the top of the device and then wound onto a second spool. The blade of the razor is drawn across the fabric portion covering the roller at the moment, to transfer any shaving cream and hair onto the fabric. Then the spools are rotated to advance the fabric portion to slide against a sharp edge of a debris gathering box into which the deposited debris falls. A problem with Humbert is that it does not teach removal of deposits adhering to the blade surfaces.
Morehouse, U.S. Pat. No. 1,978,716, issued on Oct. 30, 1934, reveals a razor blade lubricator apparatus for wiping and oiling the more modern, replaceable, rectangular razor blades. Morehouse includes a case which has a reservoir adapted to be filled with lubricating fluid and which has a blade passing slot along its top and one or both ends for passing the blade into and out of the case. The case contains a pair of oppositely disposed absorbent pads arranged adjacent to the slot to engage opposite sides of the blade as it is drawn through the slot between the pads. The lubricating fluid used is one such as petroleum jelly or vaseline. Once again, cation removal of adhering deposits is not suggested.
Troll, U.S. Pat. No. 1,983,011, issued on Dec. 4, 1934, discloses a razor blade wiper and drier apparatus. Troll includes several circular disks of absorbent material to which may be added outside disks of celluloid. The disks are tightly fastened together face to face at their centers and are open at their periphery for insertion of the blade, thus providing a contact surface of absorbent material. The wiping disks may be saturated with oil or other cleaning, lubricating and rust preventing preparation. Cation cleaning of deposits is not contemplated in Troll.
Mayr, U.S. Pat. No. 2,077,246, issued on Apr. 13, 1937, discloses an apparatus for cleaning razor blades. Mayr teaches cleaning the blades by sliding them against porous materials. The blade is held by pins on the apparatus, which includes a bar-form slider assembly, and the blade is carried with its edges between runners on both sides of the slider assembly and covered with porous material. The runners are formed by suitable grooving or cutting away of a fixed lower part and an upper part of the slider assembly, closing onto the lower part. Lather is removed from the edges of the blades, and the blades are at the same time dried, during passage of the blade edges between the pads of the porous material, which are arranged above, below and on each side of the slider assembly. The porous material can be strips of paper or of cotton fabric. Once again, no cation removal of deposits is revealed.
Fleckenstine, U.S. Pat. No. 2,465,440, issued on Mar. 29, 1949, discloses a razor cleaning device. Fleckenstine includes a pair of wiping or drying pads. Each pad is composed of a layer of absorbent material, such as flannel, attached to a layer of stiffer backing material such as fiber board. The pads are secured face to face and arranged to permit a wet razor blade to be passed between them for drying contact with their absorbent surfaces. The pads are tightly joined together to exert pressure on the faces of the blade at the edges being cleaned. This sort of wiping action is generally insufficient to remove caked deposits.
Morrow, U.S. Pat. No. 2,748,413, issued on Jun. 5, 1956, discloses a razor drying holder apparatus. Morrow includes a container having a slotted opening. A desiccant receiving member is positioned within the container and a slot extends through the receiving member which is positioned to register with the container slotted opening. The desiccant receiving member includes a porous slot lining, and a holding pin extends through the slots in the container and desiccant receiving member to receive, pass and position a razor blade within the container. The desiccant may include a hygroscopic substance such as calcium chloride which may be mixed with a body material, such as infusorial earth. A cation cleaning is not provided.
Eldridge, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,357, issued on Sep. 28, 1976, teaches a cleaning device for cauterizing knives and forceps intended for use during a single surgical operation, and then to be discarded. The device includes a pair of confronting abrasive strips urged into mutual engagement by opposed resilient porous pads which wipe loosened particles from the cauterizing knife or forceps. A frame structure receives the abrasive strips and pads, and is further provided with side extensions for clamping engagement by an atraumatic clip for attachment of the device to a surgical towel or drape. The frame also provides additional structures for receiving cauterizing knifes or an electrical cord forming part of the cauterizing equipment. Once again cleaning is accomplished with abrasion which may not remove mineral deposits.
Dao, U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,705, issued on Dec. 5, 1995, discloses a cauterizer blade wiping device. Dao includes a body having a wall with one or more elongated slots. The body has sidewalls extending between the inner and outer surfaces of the wall. A cauterizer blade is drawn through a slot in any suitable orientation to wipe debris from the blade. A sidewall of each slot is bounded by a longitudinal inner edge along the inner surface of the wall and a longitudinal outer edge along the outer surface of the wall. Each of the two surfaces of the cauterizer blade contacts one inner edge when the blade is drawn through the slot, to wipe or scrape the blade. The sidewalls have a beveled appearance and provide chisel-like inner edges to enhance the wiping action. While this scraping action may remove loose debris, as stated, it would be largely ineffective in removing adhering mineral deposits.
Dugrot, U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,949, issued on Jun. 13, 1989, provides a shaving razor cleaner device. Dugrot includes an upper chamber which fits with water-tight engagement onto a conventional tap water faucet and includes a lower chamber for blade cleaning. The lower chamber is connected to receive fluid from the upper chamber by a constricting passageway which passes and accelerates the stream of water from the faucet. The accelerated stream of water sprays into the lower chamber against a deflector plate, which fans out the water stream and distributes it uniformly and energetically against the blade area of the razor. The razor head may slide underneath the fanned stream on guide rails. A problem with Dugrot is that water impact of this magnitude is insufficient to remove blade dulling deposits.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a razor blade cleaning apparatus which prevents build-up of and removes mineral and other deposits from the cutting edges of razor blades to prevent dulling of the blades and thus to substantially increase blade life.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which removes mineral and other deposit build-up by placing the blade in a cation carrying medium in the general vicinity of cation source material.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which includes cation material in the form of beads, and which separates these beads from the blade with a partition permeable to the medium and to cations.
It is finally an object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which is inexpensive to manufacture, convenient to use, reliable and which remains effective throughout numerous blade cleanings.